Moser's Miracle Monte by Wolfgang Moser

VanishingInc’s very first product just got released in a new edition. You get twenty gimmicks (one gimmick is destroyed for each performance) and a twenty minute tutorial that teaches it all.

The tutorial video begins with a full performance. Right after the performance, Wolfgang goes over the history of this effect and how it is sort of a mashup of Michael Skinner’s “Ultimate Three Card Monte” and a torn corner idea from Harry Anderson. Wolfgang then gets to the meat of the tutorial and teaches the full workings of the monte routine.

The teaching is excellent and clear, and the video production quality is top notch. Wolfgang clearly has done this thousands of times as he says because he teaches small subtleties and tips that make all the difference. These are the signs of someone who has worked this piece in the real world.

His teaching is perfectly paced for me, but I think some beginner magicians may find it a little quick. It may take multiple viewings with the cards in hands to understand all of the moves; not because any of them are difficult, but more because it requires specific choreography that needs to be rehearsed. I personally always prefer quick tutorials. This allows me to go back and rewatch the parts I didn’t quite catch at my own pace without having to skip around the dull trodding through the mud of a longwinded tutorial.

The effect itself is really, dare I say, perfect. It’s a quick three phase version of monte that builds really nicely and ends with a great finale. The first phase is impressive, but seems feasible that you could switch the cards, the second phase begins to feel like there’s more than meets the eye, and the last phase goes all the way to full impossibility. Each phase is unique and I love the tempo of the different reveals. It’s just very nice thinking all around. I’m sure some people will be tempted to add more phases before the final one, but I think that would be a bad idea. It already has a perfect structure that can’t really be beaten. 

I will be using this, and I’m so glad VI decided to bring this release back to put it to the forefront of the minds of magicians who may have missed it entirely the first time around or who couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the simplicity at the time. 

Moser’s Miracle Monte is available for $24.95 here:

https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/card-magic/mosers-miracle-monte/